Thanks, Pajduc.

I sprayed water on the rotors and no dice. Would make sense, though.

Got a call from Honda Corporate today. They reversed what the dealer said. They saw that the plastic splash guard under the car looked scuffed and now say it's existing damage.

They want me to fix any existing damage (at my expense). Who knows what will be covered if anything.

The silly undercarriage splash guard is plastic and not much of an issue. I'm a little disappointed that after 8 or so trips, they now are pointing at me.

Lansing

 

I'm still of opinion issue of Thumping/Popping is thermal in nature. At this time I would not buy into any thought or suggestion by Honda America that this problem is not theirs and something to be addressed and resolved by Honda. Remember, Honda America and dealership network are in business for one reason and one reason olny...that is to make money...plain and simple.

If Honda admits to this being their problem it could cost them money as I believe even if your car is long out of warranty (like mine and others) if it's an issue related to safety, ie., BRAKES, then the government would put Honda on the hook for repairs to correct situation.

I suggest to anyone taking their car to Honda dealer or contacting Honda America to document everything and anything they say.

If we can collectively gather enough information about this problem and present enmass to Honda America we stand good chance of really being heard. There are many advocates willing to pickup causes such as this.

 

Wow! I just registered, and this thread caught my eye. I have a 10' and mines doing the same..I may take off the wheel, and check the breaks myself after hearing about the dealers remarks. It sounded like sticking caliper pistons to btw..

 

The Honda district parts and service manager had me go to another dealer for diagnosis and hopeful fix. This dealer seems sharp. They methodically are trying to eliminate the cause.

First they tried resurfacing the front rotors and changing pads. No luck. Then they removed the entire right strut assembly and swapped it with another cars. It was quiet until I got the car home that night.

The dealer regrouped with Honda.

I got call the other day and the dealer said he drove another 09 and it did the same thing....only it was louder! He said the owner didn't even notice the noise though. This led him to believe there's something failing in the cars. Got another call and he claims they have the "fix."

According to Honda they have seen this in a number of cars (why they didn't say so earlier...I don't know).

They report an issue with ball joints. Apparently when 'the car is put in the air," removing weight on the ball joint causes the noise to temporarily go away. It comes back after a few hours, days or so...depending on the car. He said he thinks this describes my car, and I have to agree.

The fix is to install a new part that is being reengineered and should be available in "December.". Might be a few parts available sooner but they'll let me know.

I'm hopeful and waiting now.

It would be great to finally get rid of this annoying noise.

 

Making progress on this issue good to hear and thanks for the update.

 

Hi Lansing,

I still wonder why the dealer again ignored the heat affection again. (This only happens on hot days) I am pretty sure that the sound doesn't come up when you drive the first 200m until something is heated up. I dont think the issue caused by the ball joint and their explanation doesn't satisfy me. I hope they can work out exactly because this seems to be a common problem to many of us, and as they said, " the owner does not realise ... ".

I am also curious why they said the part is available till... December. How long have you tried to deal with this case, I think at least 3 months so far. Lets see, perhaps, they know - December is winter then the sound will disappear by itself without touching anything. ).

Thanks for your updating

 

This thumping and clicking is driving me nuts..... If you experience this, do you plan to just leave it?

Am I being picky??

 

I had an Accord doing the same thing in my shop. Because I was a Service Advisor with Chevrolet in the late '80's I was familiar with this noise. The Chevy trucks went from a straight front axle to an independant suspension with rack and pinion steering. We had a recall on the front lower ball joints for making this same noise under the same conditions.
I replaced the lower ball joints and the noise is gone. We are having 100 degree days here, no shortage of heat. The old left lower ball joint when removed was rough, did not rotate smooth.
Ball joints WILL fix your car.

 

Sounds like you've had some experience with this sort of thing. I will be so glad to get this fixed.

My Honda service person and District Parts/Service Mgr is supposedly going to wait for an updated/re-engineered ball joint. Available some time later this year (e.g., December).

I'm wondering if I should just go out there and change it now without the updated part.

Is R&R balljoint a pretty simple and inexpensive deal?

Thank you.

 

Refer to post # 31.